SOUL ASYLUM

MODERN ROCK LIVE

ON-LINE INTERVIEW from 06-18-95

(this was held on-line before the on air radio broadcast)

{Reprinted without permission}

Question : Respond to the recent Rolling Stone cover story on your band...happy or unhappy with the outcome?

SAsylumLA : Unhappy...

Question : Love the new CD, guys! It's great having Sterling Campbell in the band, but what happened with Grant Young?!?

SAsylumLA : He's having a kid. We gave him a whole bunch of money and settled it without a bunch of lawyers... SAsylumLA : He's talking about making stained glass windows..

Question : Hi, guys...love the new CD! Any plans for a long-form home video, either live material or just the videos that you've done?

SAsylumLA : We've talked about it for five years, but no immediate plans.

Question : What was the reason for changing drummers?

SAsylumLA : Musical reasons. It got to be a grind for everyone, including Grant and it wasn't any fun.

Question : Soul Asylum, has your video for Runaway train aided in the finding of the children you portrayed in the video, or any missing children for that matter?

SAsylumLA : Yes, quite a bit. We keep meeting people that have found their kids because of it. SAsylumLA : We just met a fireman at HFS festival that found his baby that was abducted.

Question : when is your new album coming out??

SAsylumLA : It's been out for two weeks. It's called Let Your Dim Light Shine, and you can get it at the WIZ!!

SAsylumLA : Get on your horse and ride into town.

Question : Soul Asylum, how long have you been a band and how many albums have you released? Also, Where are you from?

SAsylumLA : Minneapolis originally, we've been a band for about 12 years. This is our 8th record.

Question : Who was your inspiration?

SAsylumLA : When we started, our inspiration was punk rock,.. Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Clash, Velvet Underground,

SAsylumLA : and shit like that. We practiced in a garage at ridiculous volume, and the neighbors always put up with it.

Question : a lot of your music goes straight to the heart were there very difficult times growing up???

SAsylumLA : Sure, everybody has `em. Growin up's a bitch.

SAsylumLA : Dan: I moved around a lot growing up, that's how I got interested in music.

Question : Do you like your first or second album better?

SAsylumLA : Made To Be Broken

Question : What exactly made you guys change your style of music from "some-what HC" to "a little slower and softer"?

SAsylumLA : The same old thing got boring after a while.

SAsylumLA : It kind of got to be more about the attitude than the music.

Question : who is on your cover of your first album is it Robert Plants wife and kids?

SAsylumLA : On Say What You Will, (around 83), Dave did the record cover, there's a clown, a toad, a guitar player, and a Caribbean guy playing a drum.

Question : ok.. what is frustrated incorporated all about???

SAsylumLA : Listen to the song.

SAsylumLA : Plus it rhymes.

Question : I've noticed in the times that I've seen the band, you tend to ignore the Twin Tones material...are you planning on doing more this tour so a new group of fans can hear it?

SAsylumLA : We've been playing "Closer To The Stars" and "Stranger", It's not something we think about that much.

Question : Who wrote the song "Put the bone in"? Extremely amusing.

SAsylumLA : Terry Jacks, it's the B side of Seasons In The Sun. There's a bar called Blue and Gold where it was on the jukebox and we'd go there and play it fifty times a night.

SAsylumLA : Yes that IS live in the studio, that version.

Question : WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG????

SAsylumLA : Dan: Family Affair by Sly and the Family Stone SAsylumLA : Dave: Use Me by Bill Withers.... today. It'll change in a half hour.... Question : Are you guys planning on doing a world tour?

SAsylumLA : We're going to Europe in a couple of days. We're going out with Jayhawks, Matthew Sweet, Victoria Williams... it's kind of a package tour. In the US

Question : hello, i saw you @ HFStival, and i was wondering if you enjoyed the crowd excitement @ RFK??

SAsylumLA : I had a fun time there. I thought it was fun show, more fun than the Weenie Roast. perhaps...?

Question : Out of all of your songs, which one do you like the best?

SAsylumLA : Dan: Never Really Been, off Made To Be Broken, today..

SAsylumLA : Dave: For me it's got to be whichever one I'm working on.

Question : Are you guys sick of "Misery" already?

SAsylumLA : Dave: Figuratively or..?

SAsylumLA : Dan: I'm not, I will be.

SAsylumLA : Dave: I still haven't figured out if I should play acoustic or electric on it.

SAsylumLA : Let's take a poll right now, use the vote button...

Question : How did you come up with your name

SAsylumLA : Dan: It was a song that Dave wrote called Soul Asylum. We used to called Loud Fast Rules, but

SAsylumLA : it had one too many words.

Question : What are some other bands you guys listen to?

SAsylumLA : Jayhawks, Victoria Williams, Wilco, Radiohead, Meat Puppets, The Hang Ups, Sun Volt, TZA,

SAsylumLA : and shit like that...

SAsylumLA : and Mike Watt.

SAsylumLA : Especially the phone interview track on Ball Hog..

Question : i grew up with you guys in mpls. does success mean first ave or uptown gigs are out of the question?

SAsylumLA : No, we just played the Uptown, and there were 20 people there, I'm not exagerrating. we'll be playing First Avenue for the rest of our lives.

Question : What's it like to be famous?

SAsylumLA : We don't know.

Question : How did you learn to play the guitar

SAsylumLA : Dan: I had a step brother that I haven't seen in 20 years, who taught me how to play. I always had sisters, never a brother, and finally he taught me how to play. Stepbrother that is....

SAsylumLA : Dave: I learned how to play from Chris Osgood in Suicide Commandos, he taught me two Ramones songs that was all I needed.

Question : Where did you go to hi school?

SAsylumLA : Minneapolis, Dan: Marshall U Dave: West

Question : What do you guys usually eat for breakfast?--> you guys do eat breakfast right??

SAsylumLA : We don't eat breakfast.

Question : Hey, you guys are always saying that you've recorded like a billion songs for each album, yet they aren't released? Songs like "Easy to Avoid", "Some Obsessions", and "Straight Up." Any plans on releasing a demo or B-side album?

SAsylumLA : Personally I would love to someday. I think those bootlegs sold more than our early records.

Question : If you guys go on tour, would you PLEASE come to Nashville and make it all ages?

SAsylumLA : OK, see you there.

Question : is flannel the magic fabric?

SAsylumLA : Dan: I feel self conscious wearing flannel now, it's come full circle...

Question : Do you feel any responsibility as a role model for kids?

SAsylumLA : I used to but I realized that my credibility has been destroyed. Why you holdin?

Question : why is your album named "let your dim light shine", is there a deep meaning behind it or something?

SAsylumLA : Nope.

Question : why is your new album so sad and dismal?

SAsylumLA : We thought it was happy. Must be you. Are you havin a bad day?

Question : How have you guys stayed together for so long?

SAsylumLA : We don't know what else to do.

Question : Hi guys...love the new CD! Do you guys have a Web home page on the Internet, other than the Sony one?

SAsylumLA : This is our first Internet experience.

Question : Do you guys prefer 2-ply toilet paper or single?

SAsylumLA : Toilet paper in Germany sucks. We use something soft. I prefer my hand.

Question : I really like your new album, I heard a rumor that you wanted to commit suicide, is it true?

SAsylumLA : Don't hold your breath, you might die.

OnlineHost : Soul Asylum

SAsylumLA : Thanks, that was fun.

SAsylumLA : Thanks for being at a safe distance.

SAsylumLA : Don't you have a TV to watch? Gilligan's going to get rescued today.

OnlineHost : Thanks for all the votes saying that I suck. It hurts, yet I go on. I'll be here to spite you..

Copyright 1995 MRL

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